3/20/10, Lamesa, TX - I was up well before dawn this morning when Bill started pawing the side of the wagon. We reached an understanding after I whacked the side of the wagon with a stick a couple of times. Well, this worked for about 2 hours. then I had to do it again. Not only does he have A.D.D., he’s also a spoiled brat (but an 1800 lbs one).

The morning was bitter cold, with a steady 30 mph wind from the north. After braving the elements to feed the horses, I went back inside to crank up the heat and throw on my long underwear.

By 8:30 am we were on the road. About a mile after starting, I had to get some duct tape and tape up the doorway on the windward side. The velcro wasn’t

holding it closed in the face of a really strong wind and some higher gusts.

Because it was so cold, some people drove by slow, but no one even bothered to roll down their window to take a picture. Today, that was fine by me, because I didn’t feel like opening my window to greet them.

We knocked off the first 10 miles at a good pace. The Belgians were strong on the pull and managed a lot of very difficult hills, leading up to the one climbing the caprock.

The hill up the caprock was about a 7 or 8% grade and a mile long. The lads managed to pull up the whole hill without taking a break. This is quite a feat, considering that the wagon and trailer weight about 6000 pounds. At the top, I knew they were tired, but they weren’t even breathing very hard. I guess there is something to be said for 4 months of conditioning, while traveling over 1500 miles.

When I got to the top of the hill, the wind speed picked up about 10 mph, and my tape job on the door failed miserably. In the face of an almost hurricane, icy wind, I managed to get the door closed and taped. (With enough duct tape, baling wire, and super glue, the world will somehow stay together)!

For the next 10 miles, I passed one farm after another. The major crop is cotton, with just a tad of winter wheat thrown in. Most of the farmers practice some form of soil conservation, but some do not. Most of the ground is tilled. The fields that had a fair amount of humus, withstood the ravages of the wind without blowing away. Others, that had virtually no humus in the soil were playing out the Dust-Bowl, on a slightly smaller scale. It was disheartening to see clouds of dust blowing across the road, with large sand drifts forming.

I finally came to a good sized farm the wasn’t tilled, and pulled over to ask if I could spend the night. Tonight, the lads and I are set up great. They’re devouring their hay, while in their electric playpen. I devoured a bowl of Hadley’s great soup. This is a very relaxing evening, after a long, cold, day on the road.

Not long after we stopped, a nice family stopped by to chat and meet the horses.

We’re currently five miles southeast of Lamesa, TX.

On the plus side, it supposed to be 15 degrees warmer tomorrow, with greatly diminished winds.

Long climb to the top of the caprock.

At the top - an endless sea of mostly harrowed up cotton fields.

My impromptu tape job to hold the door closed. You can see by how much it is bowed in from the wind, that there was a lot of force on it.

Many examples of poor soil conservation on the farms. This farm had virtually no humus in the soil, and sand was blowing everywhere. Also, they had it plowed up, right to the front door. If they could have gotten the tractor in the door, they would probably have tilled up the living room as well.

Settled in for the night at the farm of some really nice folks. An oasis in a sea of red dirt (the farm is in the soil conservation program).